Life | Book Chatter

Sunday Matters

Every day has felt like a beautiful spring day this past week. It’s amazing how sunlight and blue skies immediately perk you up. That wind though. Still up to its tricks. However, gazing out the window while working has been made quite pleasant by the sunlight streaming through.

Speaking of work, I made it through and it wasn’t bad at all. Busy, but manageable. I’ve not been sleeping at all but my body and mind are constantly racing so I think that helped me catch-up so quickly. I was on fire. My daughter is not sleeping either. She was given an RX to try but it’s not working nor are any of the natural remedies (Melatonin, Magnesium, Valerian root, ZzzQuil, etc.) She is doing meditation too. If you have something to suggest, please do.

Right Now:

All that is going on right now is lounging. We had nothing scheduled for this weekend and it was nice to not have to leave the house or really do anything.

Later, my youth group will meet on Zoom again. We don’t have much of a choice even though everyone is tired of it. One out of three people in LA County have COVID so we remain virtual.

This Week:

Here’s where we really need your good thoughts, prayers, salt over the shoulder, whatever works. Two auditions this week. Hot weather and wind. Edison threatening (again) to shut the power off. We will prepare to have fully charged laptops and hotspots just in case but for singing on Zoom, the hard-wired ethernet cable is the best way to go so we hope the power remains on for Carnegie Mellon and Arizona. Please.

I also have a book club meeting on Zoom to discuss The Memory Police. I believe my daughter also has a master class to attend so power would be good.

Monday, campus is closed in honor of MLK day. I nearly forgot.

Reading:

The Overstory. It’s a long book, 500 pages or so. I may read Miss Benson’s Beetle at the same time.

Watching:

Believe it or not, I have been watching Maine Cabin Masters. It’s on the DIY network. They remodel these cabins in the middle of nowhere, often keeping the environment and sustainability in mind. It’s really amazing what they can do with these little cabins. Sometimes they are located on an island with no running water or an easy way to transport supplies. It’s fascinating.

Grateful for:

My son was offered another job to supplement the hours he is currently working so he will have two jobs. Two of my fave places (Williams Sonoma and REI).
The Otter Pup who was feeling out of sorts is now back to her normal, quirky self. I pulled a small burr out of her coat and voila! She is back in business. She also had a thorn stuck in her back. That dog loves to jump into bushes.

What’s new with you? Oh! The inauguration is this week. Praying for a smooth transition with zero drama.

Buckle-up because I think the next few days will be trying, to say the least. However, I am back at work and trying to establish routines again and that includes not burying myself in the news. I do what I can to distract myself, whether it be walking, digging around on my hillside or purging and organizing. Of course, work is keeping me busy as well as we prepare for the new semester.

I am also trying to focus on health. Moving more, changing my diet up so that it’s mostly plant-based. I had THE most amazing veggie burger at Fatburger the other day, on a gluten-free bun and then almost killed myself later in the evening because I had a horrible reaction to it. You guessed it. WHEAT. I had checked their ingredients before but not recently. My own fault but I felt like someone punched me in the throat and then my tongue kept swelling. Lots of Benadryl did the trick but it was a little scary.

How are you all doing? It’s hard to find something new to talk about when your days feel pretty much the same, huh? On my walk this morning I was hit with the delightful smell of laundry being done. I don’t know about you but the smell of fabric softener is so comforting to me. We no longer use it due to what it does to the environment but I love that comforting smell!

I have been browsing review copies that are available and there are a lot of good books coming out. I just requested Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid. It comes out June 1st and looks so good! You may remember her previous book Daisy Jones and the Six!

That’s all I have. No auditions this weekend so maybe we can venture outside of these four walls and take a drive somewhere. Hope you all have a good week.

Chatting with friends about books and life…